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Abstract:

Notification techniques are described. In an implementation, an unlock
screen is displayed by a mobile communications device that indicates that
one or more keys of the mobile communications device are locked. If an
input is detected at the mobile communications device to remove the lock,
an animation is displayed that gives an appearance that the unlock screen
is a page that is being turned and removing the lock of the one or more
keys.

Claims:

1. A method comprising: updating an unlock screen of a mobile
communication device to include notifications of events that have
occurred since a last time the mobile communication device was locked;
assigning a priority level to each of the notifications; and arranging
output of the notifications via the unlock screen based on respective
assigned priority levels of the notifications, the notifications being
output in a manner that visually reflects the respective assigned
priority levels and is visually different from at least one other
notification having a different priority level.

2. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the unlock screen is output
in response to initiation of a key lock of the mobile communications
device.

3. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the unlock screen is output
in response to initiation of a device lock of the mobile communications
device that is configured to be removed using a PIN.

4. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the unlock screen is
configured to be removed in conjunction with display of an animation that
gives an appearance that the unlock screen is a page that is being
turned.

5. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the unlock screen is
configured to be removed via a gesture.

6. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising dynamically
rearranging the notifications as subsequent said notifications are
received according to assigned priority levels of the notifications.

7. A method as described in claim 6, wherein the rearranging is performed
such that the notifications do not obscure each other.

8. A method as described in claim 6, wherein the rearranging is performed
such that the notifications do not obscure an image that acts as a
background for the unlock screen.

9. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the updating includes
displaying a particular said notification alone on the display device in
response to a corresponding event and after a specified amount of time
has passed, displaying the particular said notification with other said
notifications if the number of the notifications that are to be output on
the unlock screen does not exceed the specified number.

10. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the updating includes
displaying a particular said notification alone on the display device in
response to a corresponding event and after a specified amount of time
has passed, and condensing the notifications if the number of the
notifications that are to be output on the unlock screen exceeds a
specified number.

11. A mobile communications device comprising a display device and one or
more modules that if the mobile communications device is in a device lock
state is configured to determine a type of a notification and responsive
to a determine that the notification is of a particular type, cause the
notification to be output without receiving an input to unlock the device
lock.

12. A mobile communications device as described in claim 11, wherein the
one or more modules are configured to return the device lock responsive
to a determination that the notification of the particular type has been
addressed.

13. A mobile communications device as described in claim 11, wherein the
one or more modules are configured to remove the device lock state in
response to receipt of an input of a specified PIN number.

14. A mobile communications device as described in claim 11, wherein the
one or more modules are further configured to output a notification that
is not the particular type as part of an unlock screen that is output
when in the device lock state.

15. A mobile communications device as described in claim 11, wherein the
device lock is removable via a gesture.

16. A mobile communications device as described in claim 11, wherein the
device lock is removable via entry of a PIN.

17. A mobile communications device comprising a display device and one or
more modules to cause a background screen displayed on the display device
as an unlock screen to be replaced with a notification responsive to
receipt of the notification and to return display of the background
screen after a specified amount of time has passed.

18. A mobile communications device as described in claim 17, wherein the
display of the background screen is returned after the specified amount
of time has passed without receipt of an input to unlock the mobile
communications device.

19. A mobile communications device as described in claim 17, wherein the
replacement is performed based on a priority that is assigned to the
notification such that if the notification does not have that priority,
the notification does not cause the replacement to occur.

20. A mobile communications device as described in claim 17, wherein the
one or more modules are configured to include telephone functionality.

Description:

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. Section 120 as a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/414,382, filed Mar.
30, 2009, and titled "Notifications," the entire disclosure of which is
incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Mobile communications devices (e.g., wireless phones) have become
an integral part of everyday life. For example, a user traditionally used
mobile communications devices to place and receive telephone calls when
the user was away from a fixed communication device, e.g., a house or
office telephone. In some instances, the mobile communications device
became the primary device via which the user communicated with other
users as the user became accustomed to the convenience and functionality
of the device.

[0003] Further, the communication techniques that may be employed using a
mobile communications device have increased. For example, users were
traditionally limited to telephone calls between mobile communications
devices. Advances were then made to provide a variety of other
communication techniques, e.g., text messaging and email. However,
inclusion of these additional communication techniques on mobile
communications devices having traditional form factors may cause these
devices to become unwieldy and less suitable for mobile applications. For
example, traditional input devices that were employed by these
communication techniques may be less suitable when applied by traditional
mobile communications devices.

SUMMARY

[0004] Unlock screen and notification techniques are described. In an
implementation, an unlock screen is displayed by a mobile communications
device that indicates that one or more keys of the mobile communications
device are locked. If an input is detected at the mobile communications
device to remove the lock, an animation is displayed that gives an
appearance that the unlock screen is a page that is being turned and
removing the lock of the one or more keys.

[0005] In an implementation, an unlock screen is updated of a mobile
communications device to include notifications of events that have
occurred since a last time the mobile communications device was locked.
If a number of the notifications that are to be output on the unlock
screen exceeds a specified number, the notifications are condensed into a
single condensed notification to be output via the unlock screen that
references a type and number of the notifications.

[0006] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a
simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed
Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or
essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to
be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The detailed description is described with reference to the
accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a
reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number
first appears. The use of the same reference numbers in different
instances in the description and the figures may indicate similar or
identical items.

[0008] FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example implementation of a mobile
communications device in accordance with one or more embodiments of
devices, features, and systems for mobile communications.

[0009] FIG. 2 illustrates an example implementation in which a gesture is
used to unlock an unlock screen of FIG. 1.

[0010] FIG. 3 illustrates an example implementation in which a mobile
communication device of FIG. 2 is unlocked after completion of the
gesture.

[0011] FIG. 4 illustrates an example implementation in which the mobile
communications device of FIG. 1 is shown as having the unlock screen
configured to include a specified image.

[0012] FIG. 5 illustrates an example implementation of the mobile
communications device of FIG. 1 as outputting an unlock screen having a
clock that illustrates the date and time in this instance.

[0013] FIG. 6 illustrates an example implementation of the mobile
communications device of FIG. 1 as outputting a full-screen notification.

[0014] FIG. 7 illustrates an example implementation of the mobile
communications device of FIG. 1 as arranging and outputting notifications
for display in conjunction with the unlock screen 120.

[0015] FIG. 8 illustrates an example implementation in which a
notification is displayed singly as received and then displayed in
conjunction with other notifications.

[0016] FIG. 9 illustrates the mobile communications device in an example
implementation in which a notification that is assigned a medium priority
is output with notifications that are assigned a low priority.

[0017] FIG. 10 illustrates an example implementation in which the mobile
communications device 102 includes an emergency contact user interface.

[0018] FIG. 11 depicts a procedure in an example implementation in which
an animation is displayed in conjunction with removal of a key lock of a
mobile communications device.

[0019] FIG. 12 depicts a procedure in an example implementation in which a
clock is displayed.

[0020] FIG. 13 depicts a procedure in an example implementation in which a
condense mechanism is employed with notifications.

[0021] FIG. 14 illustrates various components of an example device that
can be implemented in various embodiments as any type of a mobile
communication device to implement embodiments of devices, features, and
systems for mobile communications.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Overview

[0022] The use of physical control descriptors (e.g., text, images of an
action to be performed, and so on) on a mobile communication device that
explain how to unlock a touch screen user interface (UI) may be limiting
and tough to decipher. Likewise, conventional gestures that are
virtualizations of mechanical switches may also be hard to learn and/or
discover.

[0023] In one or more implementations, an unlock screen is described that
acts like a piece of paper (e.g., vellum) that is curled up at the corner
to unlock a mobile device. The corner may be animated to look like it is
blowing in a soft breeze to call attention to the corner. To unlock the
mobile device, a gesture may be performed that mimics a physical behavior
of turning a page to unlock the mobile communications device. Therefore,
in this example a user may readily ascertain how to unlock the mobile
communications device without a text description or other physical
control descriptor. While the phone is locked, the vellum may be used to
partially disguise portions of a user interface (UI) behind it to
increase visibility of a clock. For example, the vellum of the UI may be
configured to be translucent to allow notifications (e.g., updates and
alerts) to be at least partially visible from the underlying UI.

[0024] Additional techniques are also described may also provide a variety
of functionality, such as serve as an outlet for user customization,
display the time, display incoming communication-related notifications
since the last time the device was locked, permit the user to perform
emergency functions, secure phone content after certain time (e.g., a PIN
lock), permit a device "wipe" if a PIN is entered incorrectly a
predetermined number of times, provide an entry point for basic music
playback control, provide a repository for unnoticed notifications,
display notifications that a user has already seen, and so on, further
discussion of which may be found in relation to the following
description.

[0025] In the following discussion, a variety of example implementations
of a mobile communications device are shown. Additionally, a variety of
different functionality that may be employed by the mobile communications
device is described for each example, which may be implemented in that
example as well as in other described examples. Accordingly, example
implementations are illustrated of a few of a variety of contemplated
implementations. Further, although a mobile communications device having
one or more modules that are configured to provide telephonic
functionality are described, a variety of other mobile communications
devices are also contemplated, such as dedicated messaging devices, music
players, portable game devices, and so on.

[0026] Unlock Screen

[0027] FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example implementation 100 of a
mobile communications device 102 in accordance with one or more
embodiments of devices, features, and systems for mobile communications.
The mobile communications device 102 is illustrated as assuming a
plurality of configurations, examples of which include a first
configuration 104, a second configuration 106, and a third configuration
108.

[0028] The mobile communications device 102 is further illustrated as
including a first housing 110 and a second housing 112 that are connected
via a slide 114 such that the first and second housings 110, 112 may move
(e.g., slide) in relation to one another. The first housing 110 includes
a display device 116 (e.g., a touchscreen) that may be used to output a
variety of data, such as a caller identification (ID), information
related to text messages as illustrated, email, multimedia messages,
Internet browsing, game play, music, video and so on. The second housing
112 is illustrated as including a keyboard 118 that may be used to
provide inputs to the mobile communications device 102. Although the
keyboard 118 is illustrated as a QWERTY keyboard, a variety of other
examples are also contemplated, such as a twelve key numeric pad.

[0029] In the example shown in FIG. 1, the first and second housings 110,
112 of the mobile communications device 102 are rectangular. For example,
a plane defined by an outer surface of the display device 116 may be
parallel to a plane of the first housing 110 that approximates a
rectangle, which may be the same as or different from the plane defined
by the display device 116. In another example, the width and height of
the plane taken from the first housing that is parallel to the other
surface of the display device 116 are approximately square (e.g.,
one-to-one so as to be equilateral rectilinear). A variety of other
examples are also contemplated.

[0030] In the first configuration 104, the mobile communications device
102 is closed such that the first housing 110 covers the second housing
112. Consequently, the keyboard 118 disposed on the second housing 112 is
covered and thus is not available to receive inputs from a user of the
mobile communications device 102. In an implementation, telephonic
functionality is still available when the mobile communications device
102 is in the first configuration 104, e.g., to receive and answer a
telephone call via interaction with the display device 116 or other
buttons disposed either of the first and/or second housings 108, 110.

[0031] In the second configuration 106, the first housing 108 is moved
(e.g., slid) "away" from the second housing 112 using the slide 114. In
this example configuration, a portion of the keys of the keyboard 118 is
exposed such that the exposed keys are available to receive inputs from a
user. In another implementation, however, use of the keys of the keyboard
116 is restricted until the mobile communications device 106 assumes the
open configuration illustrated in the third configuration 108 to help
prevent inadvertent inputs. In an implementation, the planes of the first
and second housings 110, 112 that are used to define the square form
factor are parallel to each other, although other implementations are
also contemplated.

[0032] In the third configuration 108, the first housing 108 is moved
further "away" from the second housing 112 using the slide 114. In this
example configuration, at least a majority of the keys of the keyboard
118 are exposed and are available to receive inputs from a user.
Accordingly, the third configuration 108 may be considered an "open"
configuration. In the illustrated implementation 100, the display device
116 remains viewable by a user in each configuration, examples of which
are shown in the first, second, and third configurations 110, 112, 114.

[0033] The display device 116 is further illustrated as including an
unlock screen 120 that once unlocked may reveal an underlying user
interface 122, unlock a key lock placed physical and/or displayed keys on
the mobile communications device 102, and so on. In the illustrated
implementation of FIG. 1, the first housing 110 is slid away from the
second housing 112 to unlock keys of the mobile communication device 102.
When the keys are locked, mobile communications device 102 application
functionality is not accessible and the device does not respond to
keyboard 118 presses.

[0034] In the illustrated implementation 100, the unlock screen 120 is
animated in a manner mimicking a page being turned such that the user
interface 122 is exposed as the first and second housings 110, 112 are
slid away from each other. For example, as shown in the second
configuration 106 the unlock screen 120 is partially turned to reveal the
user interface 122 underneath. In the third configuration 108 of FIG. 3,
the user interface 122 is completely exposed as the mobile communications
device 102 has assumed the "open" configuration and is ready to receive
inputs entered via the keyboard 118 and/or display device 116. In an
implementation, the unlock screen 120 may mimic a layer of vellum that is
partially translucent to reveal portions of the user interface 112 below,
e.g., to display notifications and so on as further described in relation
to FIG. 5. The unlock screen 120 may also be unlocked using a gesture,
further discussion of which may be found in relation to the following
figure.

[0035] FIG. 2 illustrates an example implementation 200 in which a gesture
is used to unlock the unlock screen 120 of FIG. 1. In the illustrated
implementation, a first configuration 202 is shown in which the mobile
communications device 102 is in a key locked state such that the display
device 116 is not configured to receive inputs, e.g., a key press entered
via a touchscreen.

[0036] A gesture is then initiated in the second configuration 204 by a
user's hand 206. For example, a finger of the user's hand 206 may be used
to select a corner 208 of the unlock screen 120, which in this instance
is illustrated as an upturned corner of a page. The user's hand 206 (and
more particularly the user's finger) may then be used to drag the corner
208 across the display device 116 to mimic turning the page as
illustrated in the second configuration 204.

[0037] Thus, a user may activate the animation and unlock sequence on the
display device 116 by grabbing a touch target (e.g., the upturned corner
of the page) and "dragging" it across the screen as shown in FIG. 2. The
corner of the unlock screen 120 may visually follow the user's finger as
it is dragged along the surface of the display device 116, exposing some
portion of a UI 122 "underneath" the unlock screen 120, such as a PIN
unlock pad if the user is removing a device lock (which is described in
further detail below). Thus, the gesture may be used to remove a key lock
(i.e., unlock) the mobile communication device 102 and enable interaction
with the underlying user interface 122.

[0038] FIG. 3 illustrates an example implementation 300 in which the
mobile communication device 102 of FIG. 2 is unlocked after completion of
the gesture. Once the finger of the user's hand has crossed a threshold
302 (which in this instance is illustrated as seventy five percent of the
way across the display device 116 from the touch target), the unlock
screen 120 is removed. If the finger of the user's hand is removed before
then, the unlock screen 120 may animate back as shown in the first
configuration 202 of FIG. 2 and the key lock remains in place.

[0039] Once the threshold 302 is crossed at any point along the Y-axis by
the finger of the user's hand 206 and the user releases the gesture
(e.g., lifts the finger off the display device 116), the unlock screen
120 of FIG. 2 may complete animating away by continuing a turn of the
page and the key lock is removed thereby exposing the user interface 122.
If the user does not release the gesture (e.g., ceases the pan) and moves
the finger of the user's hand 206 back toward the left side of the
display device 116, the corner animation may follow the finger of the
user's hand 206. Thus, a release of the touch target (e.g., the upturned
corner of the unlock screen 120) on the left side of the threshold 302
may result in the device remaining locked, similar to not having crossed
the threshold.

[0040] The mobile communications device 102 may also keep a timer to track
idle time, which may reset each time a user leaves the mobile
communications device 102 idle. For example, when mobile communications
device 102 is active (not in a locked state), ten seconds of
non-interaction may result in dimming of the display device 116. The
mobile communications device 102 may then wait a specified amount of time
before initiating the unlock screen 120 described previously.

[0041] If the mobile communications device 102 is already locked and the
user illuminates the display device 116, the mobile communications device
102 may remain at full brightness for ten seconds before fading to half
brightness. After ten or more seconds have elapsed without interaction, a
full "key locked" state may be entered in which the display device 116 is
turned off, which may be reversed by a user through pressing a hardware
key. The timer may be reset if user selects the touch target (e.g., the
corner 208 of the unlock screen 120 of FIG. 2) and does not begin again
until the user is no longer interacting with the mobile communications
device 102.

[0042] After entering the "key locked" state, the mobile communications
device 102 may preserve a state of an application that is executing on
the mobile communications device 102, such as an application that is
displayed in the "foreground" of the user interface 122. When the user
unlocks the mobile communications device 102, the user may be returned to
the state of the application when the mobile communications device 102
was locked. In an implementation, downloads, message sending, music
playing and other application processes initiated before the lock state
may continue even if the display device 116 is locked. Further, an
application may elect to change behavior if the display device 116 is
locked, i.e., the unlock screen 120 is being employed. Examples include
movie playback and games, which may pause if screen locks, further
discussion of which may be found later in the description.

[0043] When a power key 304 is pressed, the mobile communications device
102 may enter a key locked state and turn the display device 116 off. If
the mobile communications device 102 is already locked and the mobile
communications device 102 receives an incoming phone call, interaction
with one or more of the hardware or software keys of the mobile
communications device 102 may be used to silence the ringer but does not
turn the display device 116 off.

[0044] If the mobile communications device 102 is unlocked when a
telephone call is received, a first tap on the power key 304 or
interaction with another hardware or displayed key may silence the
ringer. The mobile communications device 102 may remain unlocked and the
timer restarted for screen timeout and device idle. A second press on the
power key 304 may result in locking the mobile communications device 102
and turning the display device 116 off.

[0045] In an implementation, if the user has turned off or reset the
mobile communications device 102, the mobile communications device 102
starts in the key locked state if there is a device lock and a PIN is
enabled. If not, the mobile communications device 102 proceeds directly
to a home screen of the user interface 122 after reboot.

[0046] The key lock and the unlock screen 120 may be utilized in a variety
of other instances. For example, if a proximity sensor indicates that the
mobile communications device 102 is being held vertically during a
telephone call, the display device 116 may be turned off and key lock
turned on (i.e., the key locked state is entered) thereby initiating the
unlock screen 120. The key lock may turn off if the mobile communications
device 102 is turned horizontally again.

[0047] FIG. 4 illustrates an example implementation in which the mobile
communications device 102 of FIG. 1 is shown as having the unlock screen
120 configured to include a specified image. In this implementation, the
user may elect an image (which may be static or dynamic) to appear on the
unlock screen 120. In an implementation, this image appears in the
background of the display device 116 and is fully visible if the mobile
communications device 102 does not have a notification to output, e.g.,
low battery level as further detailed below.

[0048] The image may come from a variety of different sources. For
example, the user may select from a library of images that are local to
the mobile communications device 102, which may be populated with default
content, taken by an image capture device that is part of the mobile
communications device 102, and so on. A user may also access a web
service 406 over a network 408 (e.g., the Internet) to access a library
of images 412, such as an online marketplace having wallpapers for sale,
and download a particular image.

[0049] In an implementation, a particular image may be specified via a
setting that is accessible from a settings screen. For example, the user
interface 120 may output a selection screen to select an image from a
locally stored gallery of wallpaper or to enter the photo gallery
collection. After the user navigates to a gallery and selects an image
for use for the wallpaper, the user may be presented with a confirmation
screen to preview the image and confirm or cancel the use of the image.
The image capture device 120 may resize the image to conform to the
display device 116, e.g., crop the image.

[0050] Output of images 404 by the mobile communications device 102 on the
unlock screen 120 may also be dynamic. For example, a dynamic image may
be selected via a "Use Favorites" section of a settings screen. If the
user elects to "Use Favorites" and has images in the Favorites folder,
the unlock screen 120 may display the images 404 in succession on the
unlock screen 120. In an implementation, when this feature is first
selected, a first picture in a favorites folder is started on unlock.
Each subsequent rotation takes a next image in the folder. Images may
appear when button is pressed and a rotation animation may be employed in
response to an input received via a key (e.g., a back key) to click
through photos while in the key locked state.

[0051] If the user does not have images selected as favorites, selection
of this option may cause the mobile communications device to output
instructions to select images to go into the favorites folder before
using this option. The mobile communications device 102 may then continue
to use the previously selected image (e.g., a default wallpaper). If
desired, the user may be given an option to navigate to a photo gallery
on the mobile communications device 102 to populate the favorites folder
before returning to the settings screen.

[0052] FIG. 5 illustrates an example implementation 500 of the mobile
communications device 102 of FIG. 1 as outputting an unlock screen 120
having a clock 502 that illustrates the date and time in this instance.
In the illustrated example, the unlock screen 120 may be output by the
mobile communications device 102 as monochrome on the display device 116
to maximize visibility without using a backlight, thereby conserving
battery resources.

[0053] The unlock screen 120 includes a clock 502 having a time and date,
which is displayed in the center of the display device 116 in this
example. Time may be updated continuously, regardless of whether display
device 116 is turned on or off. This way, the clock remains up-to-date as
soon as the display device 116 is turned on.

[0054] When the display device 116 is initiated (i.e., "turned on" or
illuminated), the clock to consume a substantial portion of the display
device. For example, as illustrated the clock 502 is illustrated as being
displayed in the center of the display device. After a specified amount
of time, the amount of the display area of the display device 116
consumed by the clock 502 may be reduced, such as by minimizing the clock
502 for display at a corner of the display device 116 as illustrated in
the unlock screen 120 of FIG. 4. In an implementation, the minimized
clock may be selected to expand the view in the unlock screen 120.

[0055] The unlock screen 120 also includes silhouettes 504, 506, 508 of
notifications in the same places as the notifications are to appear in
the user interface 122. In an implementation, the unlock screen 120 is
updated as notifications are to be output, e.g., a low battery condition,
further discussion of notifications may be found in relation to the
notifications section of the description.

[0056] Notifications

[0057] The unlock screen 120 may be leverage to output a variety of
different types of notifications. Further, these types of notifications
may be assigned a priority that may be used to determine how (and even
whether) the notifications are to be output in conjunction with the
unlock screen. For example, "high priority" notifications may be output
using a "full screen", i.e., the notification consumes a majority of an
available display area of the display device 116. Notifications that have
a lesser priority may be managed and output in a manner that reflects
this lesser priority. Thus, the mobile communications device 102 may
provide techniques to manage notifications in a dynamic way that address
the priority of the notification as well as a relatively limited display
area of the display device 116 of the mobile communications device 102.

[0058] FIG. 6 illustrates an example implementation 600 of the mobile
communications device 102 of FIG. 1 as outputting a full-screen
notification. In this example, the unlock screen 120 is configured such
that the user may address a particular type of notification without
unlocking the mobile communications device 102. For instance, this type
of notifications may include an incoming phone call notification 602 as
illustrated in FIG. 6, an alarm clock notification, and so on. In an
implementation, these high priority notifications persist until the
mobile communications device 102 is unlocked as previously described.

[0059] When this particular type of "high priority" notification has been
addressed, the mobile communications device 102 may return to the key
locked state with the screen timer reset to power down the display device
116. Thus, this particular type of "high priority" notifications may be
output and interacted with out manually unlocking the mobile
communications device 102. The unlock screen 120 may also be configured
to output notifications having a lesser priority, further discussion of
which may be found in relation to the following figure.

[0060] FIG. 7 illustrates an example implementation 700 of the mobile
communications device 102 of FIG. 1 as arranging and outputting
notifications for display in conjunction with the unlock screen 120. In
an implementation, the unlock screen 120 is not configured to be an
aggregate view of each of a user's unnoticed notifications. Rather, the
unlock screen 120 may be configured to provide a summary view of each
notification that is to be output since the last time the mobile
communications device 102 was unlocked.

[0061] In a first configuration 702 of the example implementation 700 of
FIG. 7, notifications 704, 706, 708 of texts and a missed call are
displayed in respective "talk balloons." These notifications 704-708 are
illustrated as obstructing an underlying image 502, which is a clock in
this instance, until the mobile communications device 102 has been
unlocked.

[0062] The mobile communications device 102 may employ one or more
techniques to arrange the notifications 704-708 such that the clock 502
is not occluded. In some instances, however, a number of notifications
may be so great as to obscure each other as well as the clock 502.
Accordingly, a condense mechanism may be employed as shown in the second
configuration 710 of FIG. 7. In this example, a user of the mobile
communications device 102 may miss a call that would cause a notification
712 of the missed call as well as a notification 714 of a voicemail to be
output. However, output of these notifications 712, 714 with the
notifications 704--708 may cause the unlock screen 120 to become
cluttered to a point at which the notifications are difficult to view.

[0063] Accordingly, the condense mechanism may be employed to condense the
notifications 704-714 into a single notification 716 that references each
of the other notifications 704-714. For example, the notification 716 in
the second configuration 710 as illustrated references two missed calls,
two text messages and a voicemail. Thus, the notification 716 enumerates
a number and type of message that the user has not yet seen and readily
informs the user as to "what was missed" since the unlock screen 120 was
last unlocked. In an implementation, a setting may be provided by the
mobile communications device 102 to disable display of particular types
of notifications, e.g., permit or deny notifications according to
priority.

[0064] Although these techniques has been described in relation to the
unlock screen 120, it should be apparent that these techniques may be
applied to a wide variety of user interfaces, such as a home screen of
the user interface 122 previously described to manage notifications.

[0065] FIG. 8 illustrates an example implementation 800 in which a
notification is displayed singly as received and then displayed in
conjunction with other notifications. This example implementation 800
illustrates first, second, and third configurations 802, 804, 806 of the
mobile communications device 102. In the first configuration 802, the
lock screen as output on the display device 116 includes three
notifications 810.

[0066] A SMS text is then received, which causes the mobile communications
device 102 to assume the second configuration 804 in which a new
notification 812 is output that corresponds to the new SMS text.
Associated contact information 814 is also output that corresponds to a
sender of the SMS text. In this example, the notification 812 and the
information 814 as output in the second configuration 804 replace the
output of the notifications 810 and image in the first configuration 802,
thereby calling attention to the notification 812.

[0067] After a specified amount of time has passed, the mobile
communications device 102 (and more particularly the unlock screen 120)
assumes the third configuration 806. In the third configuration 806, the
notification 812 of the second configuration 804 is added to the
notifications 810 of the first configuration 802. In an implementation,
the techniques of this implementation 800 may be leveraged with the
condense mechanism of FIG. 7 such that the third configuration 806 is not
cluttered when the amount of notifications exceeds a specified amount.

[0068] FIG. 9 illustrates the mobile communications device 102 in an
example implementation 900 in which a notification that is assigned a
medium priority is output with notifications 810 that are assigned a low
priority. As previously described, notifications may be assigned
different priorities in a variety of ways, such as based as a likelihood
of being of interest to a user at a particular point in time. Therefore,
notifications may have a priority that changes over time.

[0069] The mobile communications device 102 may leverage these priorities
in order to arrange the notifications on the unlock screen 120. As
illustrated in FIG. 9, for instance, notifications 810 from FIG. 8 are
displayed that include missed telephone calls and texts. Another
notification 902 is also displayed that has been assigned a medium
priority, which is illustrated as a reminder of a doctor's appointment in
15 minutes. Because the reminder has been assigned a medium priority, it
is displayed in a layer "above" the layer of the low priority
notifications. Although a calendar reminder has been described, it should
be apparent that a wide variety of notifications may be assigned a medium
priority, such as battery low indicators, an alarm clock, and so on.

[0070] In an implementation, notifications having a medium priority when
displayed on the unlock screen 120 may not be interacted with out
unlocking the mobile communications device 102. If the user chooses to
unlock the mobile communications device 102 rather than dismiss the
notification 902, the notification 902 (when assigned a medium priority)
may persist on top of the notifications 810 having a low priority after
the mobile communications device 102 has been unlocked.

[0071] Although the notification techniques have been described in
relation to an unlock screen 120, it should be readily apparent that
these techniques may be implemented in a wide variety of user interfaces,
such as in a home screen of the user interface 122 described previously.

[0072] Emergency Contact User Interface

[0073] FIG. 10 illustrates an example implementation 1000 in which the
mobile communications device 102 includes an emergency contact user
interface 1002. When a mobile phone is locked (either key or device
locked in which is pin is utilized to unlock the phone), it is required
by law to enable emergency dialing. For the most part, a PIN-lock is
phone is to protect a user's data and prohibit abuse of the phone's
capabilities. Accordingly, techniques are described which are useful for
returning a mobile phone or other mobile communications device to the
owner, may help bystanders to help an owner of the mobile communications
device in an emergency situation, and expedite the process of dialing an
emergency number.

[0074] Use of conventional phones on the market relay on an assumption
that users know and can dial emergency numbers to call them in an
emergency situation. Additionally, conventional phone restrict dialing
functionality to specific emergency numbers, rather than contacts that
may be able to help. Techniques are described to download locally
relevant numbers and make them directly accessible to users from an
emergency contact user interface 1002 if the mobile communications device
1002 is device locked (e.g., via a PIN), which may make dialing these
emergency numbers easier.

[0075] Additionally, these techniques may be used to give limited access
to an "inner circle" of contacts for helping a user who might not be
physically capable of unlocking the device, which may also assist in
recovery of a lost device-locked phone. In an implementation, this
information may be displayed in the emergency contact user interface 1002
while limiting access to personal data through the device lock.

[0076] The mobile communications device 102 is illustrated as including an
emergency contact module 1104, which is representative of functionality
to form and output the emergency contact user interface 1002. For
example, the mobile communications device 102 may be in a device lock
state such that a PIN number is to be entered before access to underlying
functionality of the mobile communications device 102 is permitted. In
this implementation, a user may still be able to call emergency telephone
numbers from the unlock screen. For example, a user may switch to
emergency calling mode by pressing a call key which may be implemented as
a hardware key 1006, a display of a key in a PIN entry screen configured
to remove a device lock, and so on.

[0077] As illustrated, the emergency contact user interface 1002 may be
output by the mobile communications device 102 to present a user with a
list of contacts 1008 that may be dialed. In the illustrated
implementation, emergency numbers are displayed at the top of this list,
which may be updated based on the mobile communication device's 102
geographic location.

[0078] For example, a geographic location of the mobile communication
device 102 may be determined by the mobile communications device 102 or
other entity, such as a web service 1010. The geographic position may be
determined in a variety of ways, such as through a global positing
system, through use of cellular towers that are used to communicate with
the mobile communications device 102, and so on. A web service 1010 may
then provide contacts 1012 (e.g., emergency numbers) via the network 408
to the mobile communications device 102. In another implementation, the
contacts 1012 may be stored locally by the mobile communications device
102.

[0079] The emergency contact user interface 1002 may also include "inner
circle contacts," which may be listed by first name solely in
alphabetical order after the emergency numbers. The inner circle contacts
may be specified in a variety of ways, such as through information
associated with each contact through interaction with a "wizard." If an
inner circle contact has more than one telephone number, the number type
may be displayed in parentheses after the name, e.g., "Mom (m)" and "Mom
(h)." These contact number may also be used such that if a mobile
communications device 102 is lost, a person that finds the phone may call
the contact to locate the owner.

[0080] In the device locked state, selection of the representations of the
contact 1008 initiates a phone call to the selected contact in limited
call mode. If a user wants to access other phone functionality during the
call, the user may be prompted with a PIN entry pad to enter a pin
number. If a maximum number of PIN entries have already been attempted,
the phone call is initiated and user may is not granted access to phone
capabilities except to end the call. Although the emergency contact user
interface has been described in relation to a device locked state, it
should be readily apparent that this user interface may be employed in a
variety of different ways, such as by a mobile communications device that
is not in a locked state (e.g., by pressing a key to view emergency
contacts).

[0081] Example Procedures

[0082] The following discussion describes techniques that may be
implemented utilizing the previously described systems and devices.
Aspects of each of the procedures may be implemented in hardware,
firmware, software, or a combination thereof. The procedures are shown as
a set of blocks that specify operations performed by one or more devices
and are not necessarily limited to the orders shown for performing the
operations by the respective blocks. In portions of the following
discussion, reference will be made to the previous sections and
corresponding figures.

[0083] FIG. 11 depicts a procedure 1100 in an example implementation in
which an animation is displayed in conjunction with removal of a key lock
of a mobile communications device. An unlock screen 120 is displayed by a
mobile communications device 102 that indicates that one or more keys of
the mobile communications device 102 are locked (block 1102).

[0084] If an input at the mobile communications device 102 is detected to
remove the lock, an animation is displayed that gives an appearance that
the unlock screen is a page that is being turned and the lock of the one
of more keys is removed (block 1104). A variety of different inputs may
be detected, such as opening (e.g., via sliding) of the mobile
communications device 102 as illustrated in FIG. 1, via a gesture as
illustrated in FIG. 2, and so on.

[0085] FIG. 12 depicts a procedure 1200 in an example implementation in
which a clock is displayed. A clock is displayed on a display device of a
mobile communications device 102 in response to a waking of the display
device (block 1202). For example, the mobile communications device 102
may turn the display device 116 off to conserve power after a specified
amount of time has passed since the mobile communications device 102 was
locked, since an input was received, and so on. The display device 116
may then be woke in response to an input, such as a press of a button by
a user, movement of the mobile communications device 102, and so on.

[0086] The display of the clock is minimized after a specified amount of
time has passed since the waking of the display device (block 1204). For
example, the display of the clock 502 in FIG. 5 may be minimized to a
corner of the display device 116 as shown in FIG. 4. Thus, in this
example, the display of the clock 502 is also moved to a corner. A
variety of other examples are also contemplated.

[0087] FIG. 13 depicts a procedure 1300 in an example implementation in
which a condense mechanism is employed with notifications. An unlock
screen 120 of a mobile communications device 102 is updated to include
notifications of events that have occurred since a last time the mobile
communications device 102 was locked (block 1302). A variety of different
events may cause output of a notification, such as hardware (e.g., a
battery low condition), software (e.g., reminders, receipt of
communications), and so on.

[0088] If a number of notifications that are to be output on the unlock
screen exceeds a specified number, the notifications are condensed into a
single condensed notification to be output via the unlock screen that
references a type and number of the notifications (block 1304). For
example, the notification 716 acts to condense notifications 704-708,
712, 714 by referencing the type of notification (e.g., missed call, text
message, voicemail, and so on) and a number for a respective type.

[0089] The notifications are rearranged as subsequent notifications are
received if the number of the notifications that are to be output on the
unlock screen does not exceed the specified number (block 1306). For
example, the rearranging may be performed so that the notifications do
not obscure each other, that the notifications do not obscure an image
that acts as a background (e.g., wallpaper) for the unlock screen 120,
and so on.

[0090] Example Mobile Communications Device

[0091] FIG. 14 illustrates various components of an example device 1400
that can be implemented in various embodiments as any type of a mobile
communication device to implement embodiments of devices, features, and
systems for mobile communications. For example, device 1400 can be
implemented as any of the mobile communications devices 102 described
with reference to respective FIGS. 1-13. Device 1400 can also be
implemented to access a network-based service, such as a content service.

[0092] Device 1400 includes input(s) 1402 that may include Internet
Protocol (IP) inputs. Device 1400 further includes communication
interface(s) 1404 that can be implemented as any one or more of a
wireless interface, any type of network interface, and as any other type
of communication interface. A network interface provides a connection
between device 1400 and a communication network by which other electronic
and computing devices can communicate data with device 1400. A wireless
interface enables device 1400 to operate as a mobile communication device
for wireless communications.

[0093] Device 1400 also includes one or more processors 1406 (e.g., any of
microprocessors, controllers, and the like) which process various
computer-executable instructions to control the operation of device 1400
and to communicate with other electronic devices. Device 1400 can be
implemented with computer-readable media 1408, such as one or more memory
components, examples of which include random access memory (RAM) and
non-volatile memory (e.g., any one or more of a read-only memory (ROM),
flash memory, EPROM, EEPROM, etc.).

[0094] Computer-readable media 1408 provides data storage to store content
and data 1410, as well as device applications and any other types of
information and/or data related to operational aspects of device 1400.
For example, an operating system 1412 can be maintained as a computer
application with the computer-readable media 1408 and executed on
processor(s) 1406. Device applications can also include a communication
manager module 1414 (which may be used to provide telephonic
functionality) and a media manager 1416.

[0095] Device 1400 also includes an audio and/or video output 1418 that
provides audio and/or video data to an audio rendering and/or display
system 1420. The audio rendering and/or display system 1420 can be
implemented as integrated component(s) of the example device 1400, and
can include any components that process, display, and/or otherwise render
audio, video, and image data. Device 1400 can also be implemented to
provide a user tactile feedback, such as vibrate and haptics.

[0096] Generally, the blocks may be representative of modules that are
configured to provide represented functionality. Further, any of the
functions described herein can be implemented using software, firmware
(e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manual processing, or a combination of
these implementations. The terms "module," "functionality," and "logic"
as used herein generally represent software, firmware, or a combination
of software and firmware. In the case of a software implementation, the
module, functionality, or logic represents program code that performs
specified tasks when executed on a processor (e.g., CPU or CPUs). The
program code can be stored in one or more computer readable memory
devices. The features of the techniques described above are
platform-independent, meaning that the techniques may be implemented on a
variety of commercial computing platforms having a variety of processors.

[0097] Although the invention has been described in language specific to
structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood
that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily
limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific
features and acts are disclosed as example forms of implementing the
claimed invention.

Patent applications by Albert Shen, Seattle, WA US

Patent applications by Jinsheng Shi, Redmond, WA US

Patent applications by Michael J. Kruzeniski, Seattle, WA US

Patent applications by Paula Guntaur, Redmond, WA US

Patent applications by Ryan M. Haning, Issaquah, WA US

Patent applications by Stephanie E. Teng, Seattle, WA US

Patent applications by Microsoft Corporation

Patent applications in class Privacy, lock-out, or authentication

Patent applications in all subclasses Privacy, lock-out, or authentication